Fermented Sourdough Granola

5 from 86 votes

Indulge in a delicious and healthy breakfast with this long-fermented sourdough granola, the perfect alternative to traditional granola. This unique recipe involves fermenting oats with unfed or discarded sourdough starter, which acts as an excellent binder to create a satisfyingly crunchy, slightly clumpy texture.

Prep Time15

Cook Time3

Fermentation Time1

Total Time1 3 15

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: All

Diet: Diabetic, Gluten Free, Low Lactose, Low Salt, Vegetarian

Servings: to 18 servings

Calories: 336kcal

Author: Shilpa Kerur

Equipment

Ingredients

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup unfed sourdough starter (sourdough discard)
¾ cup coconut oil
¾ cup honey
1½ cup sunflower seeds
1½ cup pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Prep and fermentations:

Take sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds in a large bowl and soak them in water. Let the bowl sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Rinse the seeds and refresh the water at the 12-hour mark.
In another bowl, take rolled oats, sourdough starter, ½ cup honey, and ½ cup coconut oil. Stir it well to make sure everything is well incorporated. Cover and keep in a warm spot for fermentation for up to 24 hours.

Bake the granola:

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 210 F (100 C). Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Drain the water from the seeds and rinse them well with fresh water.
Break up the fermented oats mixture. Add the soaked seeds, remaining coconut oil and honey, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and salt.
Divide the mixture into two parts and pour onto the baking trays.
Spread the mixture into a thin layer. Try to create an even layer throughout.
Bake in the preheated oven for 2 hours.
Remove the trays from the oven and break the granola. At this stage, it will still be very soft. Make sure the chunks are not too big.
Place the trays back into the oven for one more hour.
Check the granola to see if it has completely dried. If not, place it back in the oven and keep checking every 15-20 minutes.
Let it cool completely before storing.

Notes

The sourdough granola I make has a slightly clumpy texture. To achieve this, I leave a few small chunks while breaking them after the initial bake. If you prefer a flakier texture, break the granola well after the first bake, making sure there are no lumps.

Baking temperature is important. I bake the granola at a lower temperature for a longer time. Baking at high temperatures will result in the burning of the seeds before the oats turn golden and crunchy. I bake the granola at 210 F (100 C) for a minimum of 3 hours, which gives me the perfect crunch and golden color without overbaking it.

Make sure the granola is fully dry and does not have any moisture content when it is done. If there is any moisture in the granola, it is best to store it in the refrigerator.

Let the granola cool down completely before storing it. Store it in an air-tight container at room temperature. Always use a dry spoon to take the granola out. Keep in mind that moisture will make it go bad.

Nutrition